Wednesday, May 24, 2006

ED, special board meeting [D209]

The District 209 Board of Education is having a special meeting PMSA to discuss “business policies” and the summer school staff. The meeting will be held at Proviso Math and Science Academy Wednesday, May 24, at 7 PM.

32 Comments:

How many of Welch's relatives will make the agenda? I believe according to the last agenda he has four relatives in security working summer school. My bad three relatives and his brother's baby momma.

Kyle Hastings, the mayor of Orland Park and also a democratic committeman,is over summer school and formed the committee to pick people to work summer school. How is he a mayor and working full time as an administrative? Go figure, anything is possible is #209. We have a supt. and a CEO.

No big surprises, JOB RIGGING STILL GOES ON AT PROVISO THROUGH WELCH AND LIBKA (the retard). Special meeting to hire Welch's relatives and cronies

Theresa Kelly has her tenant Eric Macon on the agenda for hiring. He lives in an apartment in her building on 9th avenue that she never rented out before. However, she saw an opportunity to give a person a job so he can give her the money through "rent." Is that laundering? Board members are suppose to serve "without compensation", but Theresa Kelly has figured out how to get paid. Through tenants and trips on taxpayer dime. Also, Theresa Kelly's next door neighbor, Ronald Crain, also makes over $60,000 a year as a night janitor at Proviso West. Is that job rigging.

Well, Well, Well, if it isn't Chris the Welsh. Welsh do you remeber when you were so poor and your school loans were kicking your butt? Didn't you ask to stay in someone's basement? Now with your political career taking off and the many politcal contributions you have received from Odelson and Sterk, James J. Roche, Zpda, Eye Spy, Serpico, and various people that you gave jobs to, NOW YOU ARE OUT OF THE BASEMENT...You have moved up to a deluxe apartment....LAUNDRYING MONEY? MAYBE! BUT MORE LIKE STEALING FROM CHILDREN TO BUY SIGNS TO CLUTTER UP OUR COMMUNITIES! I thought you got the message on March 21, but you are still a ROACH! YOU STEP ON ONE AND 20 MORE COME OUT of the Cereal Box!

The contractors from the magnet school basically paid for your campaign.....Don't you agree? You have over 13 relatives working in the district....Don't you agree? Why don't you address the amount of relatives you have working in the district at tonight meeting...Maybe someone will put you on the spot and ask that question.....The investigators know the truth....The community will soon find out on the 5 o'clock news! WELSH you have taken job rigging to an all time high. You got your brother, cousins (6), and brother's baby mama working at the school. WOW! Who is paying for the family reunion?

Can YOU SAY JAIL TIME...CAN THE COMMUNITY SAY...YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMIAN SILENT ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE HELD AGAINST YOU!

Let's check your political contributions........HUMMMMMM? Ironic how people gave you money for your campaign and were mysteriously hired. DON'T WORRY WELSH WE SEE YOU!

Eric Macon has worked at Proviso West for the last 8+ years.Way before Theresa Kelly became a board member.

He is on the agenda due to his familiarity with the school and his hard work. Theresa Kelly did not put him on the agenda.

Ronald Craine has worked for the district for 6 years. Ronald Craine has a college degree and worked as a supervisor for Oscar Meyer for over 20 years before he retired. He is more than qualified to handle this position.

Sorry...make that 3 things...

Theresa Kelly has owned that apartment for decades. She has always rented those apartments.

Chris Welch knows this...a couple of years ago he begged Theresa Kelly to rent him her garden apartment.

After working for Proviso during the school year, who in their right mind would want to work summer school? The drama with working at Proviso and Welch and his board of incompetent cronies, why would anyone want to work for Proviso or their summer school?

Hiring at Proviso is as usual, Welch controls who gets hired and who gets fired. Imburgia, Murphy, and Libka are spineless puppets. Welch is going to have his entire family take over Proviso. At least he could hire competent people, instead of criminals and former expelled students of Proviso. Welch SUCKS!

I feel that the writer’s view of the opposition board members not raising much concern is incorrect.

The opposition has been out spoken from day one.

The board minority spoke out against Libka becoming the superintendent because he was not qualified. They spoke out against the reshuffling fiasco that made Libka the CEO. They spoke out against Alexis Wallace when she received the rubberstamp vote to become the Principal of Proviso West when there were 4 more candidates that were actually qualified and better suited for the position.

There have been numerous situations where the board majority has operated above the law and forced their will upon the township.

Has it gone unnoticed that the CEO Libka and Welch the board president hired attorneys to investigate Ami Relf and Keisha Coleman without board approval, which is standard?

When it comes to "our view" the job of the writer is not necessarily to be objective, but to speak as concerned citizens of the communities they serve.

Writers and reporters are part of the community. Writers and reporters pay taxes. When should writers and reporters become actively involved to make the townships that they serve a better place? Will writers and reporters ever stand on the side with the community they serve or will they continue to report from the sidelines? Can one say back seat drivers and Monday morning quarterback?

Sometimes it takes more than pointing out opinions and facts to change the status quo. How many times can the board opposition vote nay, just to see the majority blatantly pass what they want? It doesn’t get any more disheartening than that…to see what you believe in and your hard work go for naught. It takes a level of strength and determination to get up and fight when you keep getting knocked down.

I am not for any board member or politician, but I am for people who work to make this community better.

Theresa Kelly literally raised a community. I basically grew up in her backyard. Ever since I can remember, Mrs. Kelly’s backyard was a safe haven for the kids in the community. It kept most of us out of gangs and off the streets. We would go there and play basketball with her sons on a daily basis, from sun up to sun down and beyond. Her backyard helped hone the skills of Corey Magette, Michael Finley, Donnie Boyce, Ray Buchanan, Johnny Jenkins and many, many others, including Stacy Welch and Melvin Lightford. Mrs. Kelly would watch from her window and ask about our grades and give us advice on life. To many of us, she was a second mother. And yes, I take it personal when I see those of ill-nature persecute her. Many of us would not be the people we are today if Theresa Kelly and her husband didn’t care.

Oh and by the way, Cynthia Broughton Is Theresa Kelly's former tenant...back when she was Ms. Phillips.

dave says: I don't know that the detention center position had to be advertised, but I'm pretty sure it has to be a certified teacher. They cannot have secretaries or parapros oversee a classroom. Why do they need a detention center? Well, for a long time PMSA employees have been afraid of summer school at PMSA. They're afraid that the place will be trashed by students from East and West. Last year in summer school I believe some student threw a computer out the window. They're afraid their shiny new school will be tagged with graffiti and that all their new stuff will be destroyed.

Hey, what ever happened to the big Mouth Brian Cross?Is it true that he was thrown out of the Young Democrats after it was found out he was not 22y/o, but 42y/o?Is it true he moved to Westchester,asumed a new alias and lives next to Don"my panties are wet" Sloan?Is it true he is being hired at 209 to work as a janitor,since his services are no longer needed by any politician with half a brain(they saw the numbers)?And what ever happened to there radio show?

ms. coffee says: They have certified teachers overseeing detentions at East and West. The one overseeing East is a Reading teacher who failed too many students, so they put her in detention. If a teacher is absent and has a student teacher, they still have to have a certified teacher in the classroom. I'm pretty sure it is the law.

Correction, the state mandates that a SUBSTITUTE teacher is present in the classroom with the student teacher. When this certified teacher at Proviso East is absent, who do YOU think covers for HER??? A SUBSITUTE teacher :)

Point taken on certified teachers being in the classroom, but a subsititute can sub in a school for 90 days. The detention study hall job was a way for Welch to distract readers from the real issue; his excessive abuse of job rigging. Libka will soon go down with Welch for allowing this type of behavior to occur and continue. How can Libka can himself a man of God? Libka to blantanly lies to the community and is a disgrace. Men of God, DO NOT LIE, CHEAT, OR STEAL!

The point about summer school should not be about a detention study hall, but about how Welch is able to LAUNDRY MONEY via his many relatives that he has working at the school. Look at the agenda he has five relatives working summer school. What is amazing is that his relatives have criminal backgrounds and he can only give them menial positions like security. He continues to hire his relatives and the community sits back and does nothing. At least he could hire qualified people. Welch is doing the same thing Manzo did, but FAR WORSE!Welch fooled the public and promised that it would never happen again, but WELCH HAS TAKEN HIS POWER TO AN ALL NEW LEVEL! The community showed Manzo the door and it is time for the community to show WELCH THE DOOR! WE NEED TO REALLY PUT STUDENTS FIRST and MEAN IT!

IT IS TIME FOR ACTION! ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS! WE NEED TO BEGIN TO GET HELP FROM SRPINGFIELD: LIGHTFORD, DAVIS, AND YARBROUGH. They will have to do something about Welch. We need to begin to make politicans accountable! NO JUSTICE NO PEACE!

ms. Coffee says: We don't need help from legislators, we need the parents of Dist. 209 to come to board meetings and ask questions. We need the parents to get so outraged that they will vote the bums out! Go to a Board meeting once. The only parents there are the ones who came to hear their kids honored.

This problem with the schools have gotten out of hand. Proviso Township is a working community and sometimes students only have one parent. To a certain degree you are right, the parents need to come out and see and hear what is going on, but when you have a board that votes to build a 40 million dollar school, when we have two failing high schools that need major repairs and updates, then where are the legislators?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Welch has reversed Proviso Township back 50 years. He has continued to perpetuate the inequalities in education that have existed since the Declaration of Independence. That magnet school was not built for the majority of children in Proviso Township. He wants to attract the students from Forest Park and Westchester. He could also care less about children, that school was built to get contracts and jobs for his campaign supporters.

I blame Moore, Lightford, Yarbrough, and Davis for allowing Welch and his cronies to steal and under handly wheel and deal on the backs of our children. The Black politicans should have stood up Welch, and SAID NO! They should be held accountable! Didn't the community have petitions going around to stop the magnet school from being built. Many parents signed and supported that cause. What happened to their fight to not have the magnet school; the Black politicans ignored them. NO JUSTICE NO PEACE!

Ms. Coffee says: The community did indeed try to fight back when the 40 mil was proposed for the magnet school. It was almost like a Chinese firedrill. first, the petitions were not "presented" by a registered voter, but left on counters at businesses. Then, there were many duplicate signatures or signatures from people who didn't live in the PTHS area. The last, and most ridiculous was that the petitions were notarized by a lawyer whose notary had expired. It was almost as if the whole thing was rigged. We will see what happens to PMSA. The bets are that it will last 3 or 4 years and then the school will be sold to Forest Park for their high school. The irony of the whole thing is that there are plenty of "smart" kids at East and West and plenty of AP and honors courses. If the schools were under control, maybe they would attract Westchester and Forest Park kids. When you hear of fights everyday, when there's no decent attendance policy, when the teachers get cursed at, when kids roam the halls and when education is constantly interrupted, there's no wonder parents don't want their kids at East or West. By the way, does anyone remember that the magnet school was originally Manzo's idea?

There is no need for a magnet school PERIOD. There is no rationale, justification, reasons, for a magnet school. D209 has ( without counting the magnet school) only two high schools. It seems that the magnet school is an inner city concept -allowing high high achieving students more of a challeged. How many high schools are in Chicago -ALOT!. How many in D209 - Two and a 70 MILLION DOLLAR BUDGET. I agree that the Magnet School is too costly and not necessary. What need to happen in order to get our children on the educational track is get these parents off there lazy ass and instill some discipline and make sure their child is getting an education. This is not a Chris Welch problem, yes I do think he needs to go. This is not D209 CEO - who is not qualified-problem, yes, he needs to go. The problem is PARENTS, ESPECIALLY BLACK FOLK, NOT LIVING UP TO THEIR RESPONSIBILTY. What do you think would happen if all the students from York High School in Elmhurst transferred/changed places with Students at Proviso East or West. I am sure that the reading and math scores would increase in D209 and the reading and math scores at York would decrease. Why is that? Well, parents at York are overall more involved with their child's education. East and West parents tend to be more concerns about what was the lottery numbers today. Going to the boat. What new outfit they need to buy for the upcoming party. Getting their hair, finger and toe nails done and BIG PIMPING.We as black folks need to wake up, because more money alone put into the educational system is not going to gurantee improvement in your child's educational. It will gurantee that more jobs and contracts will be given out.

Yes, Bigger Than Me I concur. Unfortunately, due to Wille Lynch and institutionalized racism that exist in this country some Black folks just don't get it. Blacks have been programmed to value other things over education. Damn shame!

jane says: I taught at Proviso East back in the '70's. It was just after the civil rights movement. The kids who went to Proviso were born and raised in Maywood. They were nice kids and they were concerned about learning. They bought into Kennedy's whole philosophy that to get out of the ghetto you need an education. If a kid acted up in class and you called his mom, he was afraid. He knew he'd get it when he got home. Parents were behind the teachers, not at odds with them. Kids studied. Oh, how different it was then. This guy Lynch was writing in what, the 1700's. I had to look him up to see what he said. If there are any black people out there who believe he was right, they must be living in the 1700's. Fast forward to the 2000's. Kids curse at teachers, push and hit teachers and the parents come in and compl;ain it was the teacher who instigated it. The kids at East are no longer nice Maywood born and raised. They are from the West side. They brings their gangs and drugs to school, but not a pencil and paper. Proviso is but a microcosm of what's happening in the world today. Road rage rules, drugs are all over, respect is out the window and parents can no longer control their kids. How do we change this? All I hear on this blog is Welch-Kelley-Yarbrough. Who the hell cares? Proviso has been run by crooks for years, why is it no longer a good school? I think we need to look at children today, the parents and society.

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The Board of Ed. in 88 is not addressing the problem which has been existing in that school since Ms. thurman took seat on the boaard.She is the most senior member and she knows where all the "bodies are buried".she knows about all the bogus contracts that she has pushed through past administrations and she was the sole lobbiest for the new middle school. Its time to call these peopke out for what they really are. Its time to get agencies involved in SD88 so these people can be held accountable, past and present. It is rumored that a visit has been made to the SD88 meetings by the State and FBI twice in the past month or so...Thank God. they finally got in to see the first hand under the table deals. We have to ask ourselves one important question. Who is there for the children? why wont they entertain the mobile classrooms instead of spending money to repair the old school? WHY? WHY? WHY? Did the district really need a new middle school? Did James Graham and Dr. Mack stumble up on something that may land a few past board members in jail? Did the state audit unfold some bogus information about no-bid contracts? Its going to be real busy at the Federal building this summer!!!!!!!!!